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Pam writes:

Another endless drive and we came to the Bay of Islands. 
Sheer paradise. 

We rented a wonderful apartment overlooking the bay.  Next door was one of the finest seafood restaurants in the area.  Back to the apartment to drink some nice wine and watch a movie, while we used the much needed laundering facilities. 

Next day we found the office for a trip to “A Hole in the Rock”.  Donning some appalling stinky lifejackets and oilskin trousers we climbed aboard the EXCITOR. 

It was an exhilarating trip and not at all as frightening as I had expected it to be.  We listened to local legends and skimmed around islands out in the bay, shot through a hole in the rock and floated gently back the other way marveling at the rock formations inside the hole and around the island.  One of many in these parts. 

We spied a large yacht converted into a restaurant.  Unfortunately it had only opened the night before and they did not do lunch.  The chef was a screaming queen with a mahogany tan who claimed his cooking was so good, he didn’t expect to be paid if we didn’t enjoy it.  We were disappointed not to have sampled it. This is truly a lovely place.  We visited the Treaty Grounds with its lakes and  huge totem-like Maori symbols by the sea.

Had lunch – Jason had Fush and Chups – their tongue in cheek spelling, and I wished I had ordered it, until it came, and the chips were sweet potatoes – yuk.  

It was so beautiful there (Bay of Islands) we were very reluctant to leave it but there was nothing much to do and we had a list of things to do and places to see so off we went. 

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